Overall, shares rose last week, though investor sentiment remained cautious.

On the Hochiminh Stock Exchange, the VN-Index finished at 578.76 points, up 2.16 percent over the previous week.

The HNX-Index on the Hanoi Stock Exchange also improved by 1.37 percent to reach 88.63 points.

Meanwhile, the average market value on both exchanges declined to 1.96 trillion VND (92 million USD) in Ho Chi Minh City and 829.3 billion VND (38.9 million USD) in Hanoi.

The declines in the preceding week lured investors back to help indexes gain value. However, the caution prevailed, hampering the rising momentum of the two bourses and causing liquidity to decrease throughout the sessions.

Further, blue chips continued to lead the market rally, though transactions were erratic.

Cash flow shifted quickly between sectors, as it focused on logistics shares during the first two days of the week, then concentrated on purchasing securities stocks on December 3. Meanwhile, in the final three sessions, banking stocks were favoured.

Construction and real estate shares also outperformed several other sectors, though the momentum weakened.

Trading on some specific shares was also affected by activities of foreign funds last week. Typically, Saigon Securities Inc (SSI) was added to the FTSE Vietnam Index, while Sacombank (STB), Da Nang Rubber (DRC) and Vinh Son – Song Hinh (VSH) were excluded.

At the same time, FTSE Vietnam All-Share Index added construction firm Sudico (SJS), beverage company Vinh Hoan (VHC) and Viet Nhat Medical Instrument (JVC) to its portfolio, while removing Eximbank (EIB) and Binh Minh Plastic (BMP).

Although foreign investors reversed their status to buy shares on December 4 and 5, they still concluded the week as net sellers by a margin of nearly 78.7 billion VND (3.7 million USD). Also, property developer Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAG) rose as a notable listed code when foreign investors sold it at a net 242 billion VND (11.3 million USD).

Of note, Sai Gon Securities Inc's director of retail research and investment advisory predicted last week's trend would continue for several additional sessions to accumulate in a rally.-VNA